iMay Take That Under Consideration
by Frannabelle
Summary: "Do you think you're gonna go?" Carly asked. "To Boston to live with Freddie? Yeah, right. Dude, I'd rather eat glass."
1. Chapter 1

Seddie; Multi-chapter Graduation-fic

**Disclaimer**: The characters herein belong not to me. Thus, my life sucketh.

iMay Take That Under Consideration

Prologue

Sam stretched her legs out over the arm of the living room chair. She could hear her mom in the basement talking to Frothy. It was difficult to make out her mother's words while trying to listen to Carly on her cell phone, but it sounded to Sam like she was trying to teach the cat the advantages of using color-safe bleach. "Yeah…well, no. He didn't exactly 'invite' me. I mean, he kinda was just giving me reasons for why it might make sense. Did he say anything to _you_ about asking me to go?"

"No, not at all. And, did I mention, 'wow'?" Carly pulled a Peppy Cola out of the fridge and brought it over to the kitchen counter. She moved the mouse to activate the computer. "You know, I wish you could come to Connecticut with me. I'm gonna miss not seeing you every day." She opened up her SplashFace account and checked her messages.

"Well, it's not your fault I don't have the grades. It's not like you didn't try all along to get me to do better in school. And anyway, we have webcams – we'll still see each other every day."

Carly smiled and gently ran her finger over the camera lens on her monitor. "Do you think you're gonna go?"

"To _Boston_ to live with _Freddie_? Yeah, right. Dude, I'd rather eat glass."

"Seriously, Sam."

"Carls, I don't even know why he asked me. He couldn't have meant it for real. It's probably part of some weird practical joke, and if it is, he's gonna be sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Freddie sat at the dining room table flipping through yesterday's mail. It hadn't been in the lobby box when he'd gotten home after school, but his mother had brought it in when she'd gotten home from her shift at the hospital. She'd gotten home late and hadn't opened any of the envelopes. Freddie found a letter from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology addressed to him, and instinctively quickly shoved it in his pocket when he heard his mother entering the room.

Marissa started picking up around the dining room and kitchen, preparing for the new day. Freddie's eyes tracked her movement between rooms. He got up from the table and started collecting his things. Marissa took note of Freddie then, and stopped to watch him pick his books up from the table.

"Oh, my baby bird is growing up and leaving the nest!" Marissa exclaimed with a hint of sadness as she pulled Freddie close to envelope him in her arms.

"Mom, I'm graduating from high school," Freddie said, trying to extricate himself from Marissa's motherly vice-like grip. "I'm just going to college. I'm not getting married."

"But, you might meet the woman you're going to marry in college," she retorted. "Freddie, promise me you'll be _careful_."

"Mom!"

"Oh, I watch the Lifespan Movie Channel, young man. I know about boys becoming fathers. _Underage Drinking. Drugs!_ Ohhhh, I think I'll have to draw up some new contracts for you to sign." Having said that, Marissa left the room headed for the bathroom, muttering something unintelligible, but what Freddie suspected was some kind of legalese defining the limitations of his actions while away at college.

Freddie finished collecting his schoolwork. He checked his Pear Phone battery-life, and removed the letter from his pocket, replacing it with his phone. He fingered the edge while reading the return address from Cambridge, Massachusetts on the envelope. He hesitated for only a moment longer when his eyes fell upon his own name at the center, then ran his index finger under the envelope's flap. Careful not to cut his finger on the paper, he opened the envelope and pulled out its contents. Freddie looked around the apartment and listened for his mother, but only heard the running water from the bathroom. Looking at the letter, he started to read.

_We regret to inform you that all freshmen housing has been filled._ Filled. Filled? All freshmen housing. No vacancies. Freddie read the sentence over and over, each time desperately willing the meaning of the words to change. They didn't, and indeed, there was 'regret'. There was no way his mom was going to let him go to school in Boston with no place to live. He tucked the letter back in its envelope, and placed the envelope in his backpack.

He left a Post-it for his mom on the fridge, while she was in the shower, telling her he'd decided to walk to Ridgeway. He rode the elevator down the eight floors, sulking all the way. There was a brief moment, when out of habit, he'd almost called out to Carly and Spencer for a ride as they drove out of the Bushwell garage, but he caught himself, and hid behind the dumpster until they'd turned the corner out of sight. He needed to think about his situation. Alone.

No freshmen housing meant he'd have to find a place off-campus. An apartment. In a strange city. A _real_ apartment with _rent_. Utilities. Groceries. Laundry…possibly somewhere a few blocks away…._Coin-operated_. His mom wouldn't go for that. He shook his head to clear it, as he made his way to school. Freddie's hand wouldn't rest on the strap of his backpack. He kept fiddling with it, adjusting it. It felt heavier than usual. The extra burden of the letter wearing him down.

Freddie spent most of the way in to school in a fog. He couldn't see a way out of this. Even if his mom let him go, how was he going to pay for an apartment in Boston on his own? He could get a part-time job, maybe an internship. He could get a roommate. It would be weird living with a stranger, but he supposed he could get used to it. The thought suddenly occurred to him that maybe he wasn't the only Ridgeway senior going to college in Boston. He'd have to research that. Maybe he wasn't the only one he knew who got that letter.

Freddie walked to school with a renewed sense of purpose. If there was another Ridgeway student, hopefully someone he was fairly familiar with, who was going to Boston and could room with him, everything would be perfect. When he finally reached his destination, he pushed through the doors of the high school with determination, and made a bee-line for his locker. He glanced to his left to see if Carly or Sam were at their lockers. Fortunately, they weren't. He quickly swapped books from his backpack with some from his locker, and continued towards his first class.

Hurriedly, he maneuvered himself through the hallway. Up ahead, two doors down from Ms. Briggs' English class, he caught sight of her long black hair. She was chatting with a couple of other girls against her locker. _Perfect_. Freddie, fueled by anticipation, sped up to catch her before the first bell. He kept his eyes on her, watched her animatedly throw her head back in laughter, presumably at some anecdote her friend was telling about her weekend.

"Kathy! Hey," Freddie called out to her, short of breath, "Kathy. Just the girl I was looking for…."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

"Kathy! Hey," Freddie called out to her, short of breath, "Kathy. Just the girl I was looking for…."

"Oh?" she turned towards him, and answered in surprise.

"See ya later, Kathy," one of her friends said, taking her cue to leave. "Yeah, see you at lunch," the other - the one that had made Kathy laugh before Freddie came over - called back to Kathy over her shoulder, already walking away.

"Uh, sorry for interrupting," Freddie offered.

"That's okay, what's up?" Kathy asked. She was pretty and pleasant, her dark brown almond-shaped eyes were friendly, and Freddie instantly felt reassured that she'd be able to help him with his situation, albeit indirectly.

"Well, this is gonna sound like a weird question, but do you know of any seniors going to college next year in Boston?"

Kathy's forehead scrunched in confusion, "You mean, besides you?" she answered.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, his arms raised in victory. "You see, I knew you'd know. Like, I didn't even tell you that _I_ was going, but you knew anyway. _Somehow_….Actually, that's sorta creepy."

Kathy smiled. "Is there someone in particular you're looking for, or –"

"Anyone."

"Anyone? Okaaay. Well, I know Rona Berger is going to Emerson College. And, Duke was accepted at BC – "

"He _was_?" Freddie interjected, immensely surprised.

"Football."

"Ah."

Kathy pursed her lips, and looked up at the ceiling, searching her mind for another name. "That's it."

"That's _it_?"

"Well, I'm sure you know Carly's going to Yale, as is Karen Yamakawa. And, Wesley's going to NYU. Hmm…Uh, Carter Ford's going to play basketball at Syracuse, and Nate's going to Adelphi University. Thaaat's…it for the Northeast," she said with a shrug. Kathy nodded continuously as she said, "A lot of our class is staying in the Pacific Northwest."

Freddie didn't know exactly where Emerson College was, but assumed it was in Boston. It didn't matter, though; there was no way he was going to room with Rona Berger. He couldn't stand that girl. So, it would have to be Duke. Freddie blew out some air he'd been holding in his puffed cheeks. The bell for the first class rang. He quickly thanked Kathy for her information, and they both headed off to their respective classes.

Freddie's thoughts about the information Kathy provided drowned out Ms. Briggs' lesson. At first glance he looked like he was paying attention, taking notes, reasoning out her rules for writing techniques and narratives; but really, he was plotting out a way to approach Duke with his idea of them rooming together off-campus in Boston.

_What if Duke already has plans to stay on campus at BC? Not to mention, Duke is kinda…rough – to put it mildly._ Regardless, he realized, there was no other option. Fortunately, Freddie would be seeing Duke next to last period in science.

* * *

"Wait," he said, standing slack-mouthed outside of Mr. Henning's classroom. Freddie's hands slapped against the sides of his thighs in frustration. "You mean you're _not_ going to BC?"

"Nah, it's too far away," Duke answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, Minnesota's a better deal. It's closer, and it's a Big Ten school." Duke smiled proudly at Freddie, grabbed onto his shoulders, shook him, and yelled excitedly, "I'm gonna be a Golden Gopher!"

"Uh, huh." Freddie watched stunned as Duke headed down the hall pumping his fist into the air, whooping. "Hey, Duke?" Freddie called after him just as Duke was rounding the corner out of sight. "Uh, science class is this way. Duke?"

_That's just great. Now what?_ Freddie wasn't done working this angle. He couldn't yet tell his mom that he'd be going to Boston homeless. _I'll be a hobo. I can't be a hobo. Hobos can't afford college._ He ran his hand through his hair, and shook his head. There had to be someone else he could move in with. Maybe he could –

Suddenly and gruffly, he was shoved aside. "Hey, Fredlumps, aren't you gonna be late for claaaass?" Sam asked as she sauntered by Freddie on her way into Mr. Henning's classroom.

Distracted by his situation, Freddie just watched as she passed into the room.

_Sam. Sam. Sam! Sam'll go. No, Sam won't go._ Freddie watched from just outside the doorway as Sam took off her backpack and shoved it under her stool. When she took her seat, she turned towards Freddie's empty one, and then back at the door finding he'd not come in yet. She rolled her eyes at him, and turned back around. Freddie swallowed hard, licked his lips, and whispered, "I'll just have to convince her."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Sam rolled her eyes at him, and turned back around. Freddie swallowed hard, licked his lips, and whispered, "I'll just have to convince her."

Freddie walked slowly into the room towards his stool, never taking his eyes off Sam. She went about setting her books on the lab table. Sam reached down and removed a paper bag from under her stool, and began unrolling the top. Freddie could just make out the t-shirt dressed pig and bacon strips on the 'Bacon, Eh!' label on the front. He watched as she pulled out a slice of Canadian bacon and tore it with her front teeth. _Who wouldn't want to live with that?_

Sam could feel his stare boring through her. She paused mid-chew to turn towards him. Mouth still full of mushed ham, she said, "What?"

"N-nothing," he stammered, shrugging his shoulders.

Sam glared at him, rolled up her bag, and stuffed it protectively under her arm. She finished chewing, swallowed hard, and turned back towards the front of the room as Mr. Henning entered.

The rest of the class was a blur for both of them. Sam kept sneaking slices of ham out of her bag with one hand, and as was typical for the blonde, doodled a picture of a hippopotamus doing inappropriate things to Freddie's shoes. Freddie, although trying to take notes and keep up with Mr. Henning's lastest ideas for keeping the school environmentally efficient, could concentrate on nothing but Sam.

When the hour was up, Sam tore the page with her drawing out of her notebook. She collected the rest of her things, and walked over to Freddie. Sam shoved the sheet at him and said, "Hey, Fredhead, look what I made for you."

Not realizing that the class was already over, Freddie was startled by Sam. He took the drawing from her and put it on top of the pile of his books. Picking the books up, he began to follow the other kids out of the classroom, specifically Sam. Gibby came up alongside of him and leaned over to peer at the drawing.

"Why is that hippo pouring lemonade into your shoes?"

Freddie glanced down quickly at the drawing, back up to make sure he didn't lose Sam in the crowd, and then back down, slowly comprehending Gibby's question.

"Sam drew it," he sighed. "I don't think it's lemonade."

Gibby blinked at the drawing a few times, then whispered, "Oh."

Freddie slowed down, and let Gibby continue on down the hall without him. He could make out Sam's blonde head far away down the other side amongst the others in the crowd. He decided not to go after her. Instead, he'd approach her after school…preferably somewhere more comfortable with fewer distractions...possibly within the safe confines of the Shays' apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

"What's with you?" Carly asked annoyed as she nudged Freddie in the side.

"Whaddya mean?"

Carly looked over at Sam who had just gone over to sit down in one of the bean bag chairs, and whispered, "You were spacing-out all during rehearsal. And, you keep eyeing Sam. What's the deal?"

"I wasn't 'spacing-out'….Or, _watching_ Sam," he whispered back.

"You're not gonna pull a prank on her, are you? 'Cuz I just cleaned and organized everything in here." Carly asked concerned.

"No," Freddie sighed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes at her. He started going through emails sent into the website. Carly stood by studying him. She watched him log in, and looked back at Sam.

"Alright," she said looking back and forth between them. "I'm gonna go get something from the Groovy Smoothie. Wanna come with?"

"Nah," Sam answered without looking up from her phone. "No thanks," Freddie replied at the same time as Sam.

"Ohh-kay." Carly pursed her lips, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Freddie. He avoided making eye-contact with her, and didn't look up at the door until he heard and felt Carly leave the studio.

He quickly glanced over at Sam, and then back down at the laptop screen. He logged off, looked back over at her, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

"Sooooo..." he began, walking from the computer cart towards the bean bag chair where she sat fiddling with her cell phone, poorly feigning non-chalance. "Whaddya think you're gonna do after graduation?"

"I dunno," Sam answered with a shrug. "I was thinking of pulling some kinda prank on Howard or Briggs, but I haven't decided on what yet."

"No, I don't mean after we walk. After."

"Oh, probably celebrate at El Taco Guapo...or B. F. Wang's. My mom's dating a waiter there. He keeps telling her he's entitled to a free appetizer and dessert per shift."

"Uh, no. I meant _after_ after."

"You mean like summer vacation?"

"No! I mean like college...or a job," he said trying to keep his frustration at bay.

"Whaddyu care?"

Freddie immediately put his tone in check, nothing good would come from putting her on the defensive. "Well, I was just wondering," he said, his hands rubbing against the sides of his pants. "Y'know...you _could_ come to Boston with _me_." He instantly chastised himself for sounding too eager, too hopeful.

"What?" she asked, suddenly looking up at him in surprise. Up until this point she had been pretending not to be paying much attention to him, appearing instead to be going through texts on her phone.

"You're not gonna break my thumbs now, are you?" Freddie backed away from her a few inches to what he considered a safer distance.

"No," Sam answered with a shortness in her tone and a roll of her eyes. "No...I just don't...What are you trying to say?" Her brows furrowed, as her eyes focused more intently on Freddie's mouth.

"Well, I was _thinking_, it would probably get me in good with some of the guys to have a hot girl roommate. You know...we could room together to save money?"

Sam stood slowly and whispered, "Hot-girl-roommate?" tasting the words, deciphering them. Freddie backed away farther. "Why would I want to go to Boston and live with _you_? Why would _you_ even want me to?" she asked, her words laced with accusation.

"Well, there are a lot of community colleges...It's a city, you could find a job...And, it's only a couple of hours drive to see Carly at Yale." He hated the sound of his voice saying these things to her. He sounded desperate.

"And?" Sam still didn't get the punchline.

Freddie took a deep breath, "I just...I worry about you…being here on your own."

"I won't be on my own," she spat angrily. "Spencer will still be here. My mom…pfft, _your_ mom." She reached into her mind to pull out another name, "...And, Wendy." More reluctantly came, "...Gibby." Sam began losing steam.

"Listen, just think about it. There's still a couple of months left."

"Benson, I just don't get -"

"Because...Okay?" he said, his hands rose above his head in exasperation. "Just think about it, Sam." Freddie left her then, walked out the door of the studio, and went down the stairs.

Sam watched him leave. She couldn't wrap her brain around what had just happened. She hurriedly left the studio, and went down the stairs after him. She expected him to be in the living room when she got downstairs, but found that she was alone in the apartment. She opened the front door and stepped out into the hall, shutting the Shays' apartment door behind her. Sam stared at the door to 8-D for what seemed to her like an eternity, weighing her options. Knock or bust in? Confront him or just leave? In the end, she decided the whole thing was nuts. She left Bushwell, and headed home. Distance was exactly what she needed right now.

Some moments later Carly arrived back at the loft. "Hey, guys! I'm back." She stepped out of the elevator, double-fisted with smoothies, and found she was now the only occupant of the studio. Her arms swept up in annoyance as she said, "Where'd everybody go?"

* * *

"So, why'd you guys leave?"

"Sorry. It was just – something weird happened after you left."

"You could've at least left me a note." Carly descended the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. "What happened that was weird?"

"Freddie asked me to go to Boston with him."

"You mean to go check it out, like see the M.I.T. campus?" Carly opened the refrigerator and scanned the different shelves.

"No…like to live there…with him."

"So, he _invited_ you to move to Boston with him? Wow." Carly stood up straight, eyes wide open in surprise. She stood for a moment letting Sam's words sink in. She relaxed again, and peered back into the refrigerator while waiting for Sam to respond.

Sam stretched her legs out over the arm of the living room chair. She could hear her mom in the basement talking to Frothy. It was difficult to make out her mother's words while trying to listen to Carly on her cell phone, but it sounded to Sam like she was trying to teach the cat the advantages of using color-safe bleach. "Yeah…well, no. He didn't exactly 'invite' me. I mean, he kinda was just giving me reasons for why it might make sense. Did he say anything to _you _about asking me to go?"

"No, not at all. And, did I mention, 'wow'?" Carly pulled a Peppy Cola out of the fridge and brought it over to the kitchen counter. She moved the mouse to activate the computer. "You know, I wish you could come to Connecticut with me. I'm gonna miss not seeing you every day." She opened up her SplashFace account and checked her messages.

"Well, it's not your fault I don't have the grades. It's not like you didn't try all along to get me to do better in school. And anyway, we have webcams – we'll still see each other every day."

Carly smiled and gently ran her finger over the camera lens on her monitor. "Do you think you're gonna go?"

"To _Boston_ to live with _Freddie_? Yeah, right. Dude, I'd rather eat glass."

"Seriously, Sam."

"Carls, I don't even know why he asked me. He couldn't have meant it for real. It's probably part of some weird practical joke, and if it is, he's gonna be sorry."

"Sam, what if he did mean it?" she began. "I mean, you _could_ get a job." Carly's voice started jumping through the phone at Sam. "And, you guys could visit me, or I could visit you – hey, we could even meet in the middle sometimes for like lunch." Then the ideas came, unfiltered, and freely-flowing from her mouth. "We could even do iCarly Holiday Specials, or something! We could maybe go clubbing in New York!"

"Carly, you're talking about me moving in with that nub….As in him _and_ me living together….Us in the same apartment…._Together_."

"I think it would be perfect!"

"Are you drinking a Peppy Cola?"

"Yeeeah?"

"Obviously."

"Whatever," Carly replied annoyed. She scanned her emails and immediately deleted the Spam and advertisements. "You know, Freddie was kinda acting funny this afternoon."

"Yeah, I know. At school, he kept watching me."

"No, not at school," Carly said, picking up her soda. "I was talking about during rehearsal, before I left for smoothies."

"Whaddyu mean?"

Carly took a sip, and answered, "You didn't notice he was eyeing you the whole time?"

"No," Sam thought carefully. "I mean, he had the camera on me a lot," she shrugged. "But, I have a lot to do this webisode."

"Sam, he was watching you the whole time. And, he kept spacing-out."

"Maybe he was just nervous about asking me to go to Boston with him. You know…sometimes I can be…abrasive."

Carly rolled her eyes and smiled, even though Sam couldn't see it. "I don't know," disagreement, more than doubt, laced Carly's words. "What did he do at school?"

"Well, during class he was just watching me. I could feel him, you know...staring. It wasn't creepy or anything – it was just - I'm not used to him paying that kind of attention to me."

"Oh, _my _God!" Carly brought her free hand up to the side of her face in realization.

"What?"

"What if he_ likes _you? Remember how he used to be with me? Watching through his peephole to see when I got home from school or wherever. What if he likes _you_ now? That would explain why he wants you to move to Boston with him."

"Whoa, Shay. Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself? I mean, everyone knows Freddie's in love with you. Just because he was acting a little weird today –"

"Sam!" Carly exclaimed in an effort to will her friend to believe. "He asked you to move across _the country_ with him! Just you and him, living together in some apartment, in a new city." She suddenly became amused with the whole thing. "Two young, attractive, and fun people. One guy, one girl…a one-bedroom apartment," Carly chuckled. She was practically vibrating with glee.

"Shay," Sam warned.

"Well, really, what other possible reason could there be? I'm telling you, Sam, Freddie likes you."

**A/N**: When originally added, this chapter ended earlier (at the point at which Sam asks Carly if she is drinking a Peppy Cola). In an effort to lengthen the chapters, and create better flowing transitions between chapters, I extended it, as well as the following two chapters. If you've already read beyond this point, it really shouldn't be noticeable. If you've just gotten here, then I hope you're enjoying everything so far. As always, thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: As mentioned at the end of the previous chapter, what originally was added to this story as Chapter 5 began earlier, and can now be found as an extention of the dialogue at the end of Chapter 4. This chapter now contains new material at the end. The following chapter (Chapter 6) will be all new material, and hopefully lengthy enough to please everyone. ;) I apologize for the inconvenience of re-reading this chapter to follow along with what I've changed. Truly.

Chapter 5

Sam spent the better part of the night lying awake thinking about Freddie's proposal, that by the end of first period she was practically sleepwalking to her next class. Usually, she didn't feel nappy until after lunch. _Stupid nub, keeping Mama awake when she needs her beauty sleep._

_"Well, really, what other possible reason could there be? I'm telling you, Sam, Freddie likes you."_

She just couldn't figure out his motive. And worse, she couldn't help but be interested. _Hot girl roommate?_ _What was that supposed to mean?_ According to Carly, it meant that the dork was falling in love with her. She didn't see it. _It could still be a prank_, she thought. But, he'd seemed earnest – and, desperate even. She couldn't figure him out. _Would it be that bad if Carly was right?_ The actual living with Freddie part really wasn't as unappealing as she had pretended to him and Carly. She could be someplace new and exciting, and on her own - just, not really. She'd need money for stuff. So, fine she'd have to get a job. But, Freddie, or his mom, would be good for paying for most everything else, especially if he liked her…like that. A deal like that with some stranger would be harder to come by. But, living with the nub, hmm. _Well, he'd keep the fridge stocked up...and, keep the place clean._ Sam had to admit, other than it having to actually be with Freddie, the prospect of moving in with a roommate wasn't totally suckish. _And really, Freddie isn't all that bad._

"Ah, here we are, the Nurse's Office." She opened the door slowly, found the sitting area unoccupied, and shut the door behind her. "And, there_ it_ is….The perfect napping couch."

* * *

"Hey."

Freddie looked up at her from his locker and instantly knew Carly knew. "She told you, huh?"

"Yeah! Wouldn't you have?" Carly asked. Then, heavy with sarcasm, she answered her own question, "Oh wait, no, you wouldn't."

"Sorry, it was a little spur of the moment," he said as he stood up to face her. "Besides, I wasn't sure if I really wanted _clearance_ first."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.

Freddie tilted his head, and asked, "What would you have said if I had asked you about it first?"

"I would've been supportive!" Carly screeched. Freddie gave her a look of incredulity. "Okay. I would have asked you if you had a death wish. But, then I would have been supportive," she insisted. "Soooo, why _did_ you ask Sam to go to Boston with you?"

"I don't know." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "How'd she sound when she told you about it?"

"She thinks it's part of some kinda prank." Concern shown on her face as she continued, "It isn't, is it? I mean, if it is, you should probably reconsider. No one wants a repeat of that time you replaced her Low-fat Fat Cakes with pink-painted Styrofoam," she looked off to the side as if remembering something sad, "…especially Spencer."

Freddie shook his head, "It's not a prank. Trust me." He paced a little in front of the lockers. "Did she sound like she might go?"

"Not really," Carly answered hesitantly. Freddie looked disappointed, and slumped against the lockers. Seeing the look on his face, Carly beamed, "But, I think it's great!"

"You do?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah! I mean, I was feeling guilty for even thinking of applying to colleges on the East Coast. But, when you got into M.I.T., I felt a little better about it. Lately though, I was beginning to worry about the both of us being all the way on the other side of the country leaving Sam behind."

"Yeah," he agreed. He'd considered staying west and attending Caltech, but M.I.T. was really his dream. And, when he received the admittance letter, it was hard to imagine going anywhere else.

"Is that why you asked her to go to Boston? Or, was there _maybe another reason_?" she asked hopefully.

"Well…I –"

"That's really sweet, you know, Freddie." Carly smiled at him. "And, you always say you don't care about Sam," she said, poking him gently in the side, making him flinch. "I think deep down, you really do like her."

Freddie looked carefully at Carly. He could see she had a glint in her eyes, like she had a delicious secret that she was just dying to tell. He suspected she had the wrong impression of why he'd asked Sam to move to Boston and tried to explain, "Carly, it's not like that," he protested. "I asked Sam to go with me because -"

"Hey, you guys," Gibby interrupted, jogging over to them. He was slightly out of breath, but managed to get out his message, "Mr. Buttburn's having a nervous breakdown in the cafeteria….He's crying and everything….Some kids were making fun of his name again….He's holding the Tater Tots hostage until his demands are met."

Carly sighed, "Let's go get Principal Franklin." She took a few steps towards his office with Gibby, and noticed that Freddie was no longer next to them. She turned back towards him, and asked, "You're not coming?"

"Uh, no. No, I need to go take care of something," he said in a rush, then turned to leave in the opposite direction.

"Like what?"

"I'll see you later," he yelled back to her from down the hall. Carly shook her head at him, and turned back to Gibby, and continued on to Principal Franklin's office.

Freddie headed towards the library. He needed to act quickly. And, as was his way, the best way to take action was to first prepare, and the best way to prepare was to research.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: In an effort to lengthen the chapters and create better flowing transitions, I've broken up chapters 4 and 5 differently than when I had originally added them. If you've been following along and have previously read through Chapter 5 (as it was originally added to the story), please just go back to it to read the extended ending. There are just a few more lines of dialogue that will help you to understand the end of this chapter. So very sorry for the inconvenience. I hope it doesn't reflect negatively on my story when you review. ;)

Chapter 6

Sam lay on the couch undisturbed. Most days were uneventful in the Nurse's Office - unless fish sticks were on the lunch menu, and Sam had had some - then all bets were off. At this time, however, lunch hadn't yet happened; and, usually students tended to 'appear' sick later in the day in order to be sent home early. The nurse was rarely there, instead she could be found watching television in the Teachers' Lounge. So, in the quiet of the sitting area, the only sound was of Sam gently sighing in her sleep.

"_I think you should apply there."_

"_To Yale? But, it's all the way over in Norwegia."_

"_Yeah, I know – where they make Peppy Cola."_

"_What about iCarly? And, us?"_

"_We can still do specials once in a while – like for the holidays, and stuff. And anyway, whaddyu mean, 'what about us?' Nothing's gonna happen to us, nothing could. We'll talk every day. Freddie's mom'll pay for stuff or I'll get a job. Just apply, and if you get in, we'll figure it out then."_

"_Pfft. Whaddyu mean, 'if' I get in?"_

The girls left Carly's bedroom, and Sam found herself not in the hallway across from the iCarly studio, but standing in the high school hallway outside of hers and Carly's lockers. She thought she'd already woken up from her mid-morning nap and was trying to remember which class she was supposed to be ditching, until Freddie came over to them and spoke. She instantly recognized the letter in his hand.

"_Hey, guys! I got into M.I.T."_

"_Oh my God, congratulations!"_

"_Yeah, all your nerdiness is finally paying off, Fredhead."_

Sam's eyes were moving rapidly under their lids. She was dreaming. She rolled over onto her side facing out from the couch, and groaned. Ordinarily, the couch in the Nurse's Office was of more comfort to her, but today, it provided none.

_"We shouldn't have tried to keep Carly from getting into Briarwood."_

_"Yeah, I know."_

_"You think if she'd gone to Connecticut, we'd all still be friends? And, still do iCarly?"_

_"At the time, no, I guess I didn't. I worried about that. But now, I'm sure we would have found a way to make it work. We could've gotten a one-bedroom apartment together."_

"_But, it would've just been you and me here in Boston."_

"_Well…as long as you'd've been willing to keep me around, we would've made it work."_

"_You're such a dork."_

"_Yeah, but you want me to be your dork."_

What she saw in her mind's eye changed again, and she was younger, looking at herself, as if in a mirror, but not. She was in her room, sad, pretending to be strong.

_"You all packed yet?"_

_"Mostly."_

_"You're so lucky to be getting outta here."_

_"About that. Listen, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm leaving 'cuz of you."_

_"And, how do I not take that the wrong way."_

_"I just mean...I'm leaving so you can be you."_

"_So I can be 'me'? Who am I being otherwise?"_

"_'Melanie's Twin Sister'. Look, I know you hate me. I know you think everyone thinks I'm the good one - the one with the good grades, the clean hair. The thing is: you're the only one who really thinks all that. Mom doesn't treat us like that. Carly doesn't, either."_

_"Melanie, mom's heavily medicated. And, Carly...is different."_

_"They love you, Sam. That's the difference. So, I'm gonna go so you can be you, just Sam - because, I happen to love Sam, too."_

_"Hmph, if you think I'm gonna cry just 'cuz -"_

_"Oh, just be quiet, and sit on my suitcase so I can zip it shut."_

"_Hey, you're taking all of those Inexpensive Meatballs?"_

"_Yeah, they'll stay fresh in this plastic sandwich bag. I have another one for bacon."_

"_You know, I still can't believe you made out with Freddie."_

"_Sam, that hasn't happened yet."_

Sam woke up suddenly. Her sleep had not been restful. She had dreamed about change and loss, the two things she secretly feared the most. She could only remember portions of her dream, it was more like a compilation of memories of conversations she'd had or maybe wished she'd had. She replayed what she could remember, and cursed Carly for putting all those crazy ideas into her head. Well, the one idea that was craziest of all, anyway. She didn't like the unsettled feeling it had left in her stomach. _Maybe I'm just hungry_, she tried to convince herself. She should blame Freddie for wanting her to be with him in the first place – he was definitely the one who was crazy. She checked the clock on the wall. She'd missed almost all of her class with Mr. Stern, but still had enough time left to get to her locker before lunch. If she remembered correctly, today's starch was Tater Tots. Her stomach grumbled at the mere thought of food, so she packed up her stuff, and headed out.

* * *

Freddie sat in the school library with his laptop at a private study cubicle against the wall between the Travel and Reference sections. He was well into ZapLook-ing suitable, yet affordable, student-friendly neighborhoods, and available apartments in the outer-lying areas of Boston. So far, he liked the idea of living in Brookline. It was near the city, Boston University, and Boston College. It sounded nice – fun, but still relaxed – but, it was a bit too pricey, and not as close to M.I.T. as he'd hoped. Cambridge was ideally the best area – as it seemed to be the most centrally-located to Boston, and M.I.T. and Harvard. But, it too seemed a little expensive. He decided to venture a bit further out, virtually, and looked into information on the next towns over. Arlington was more family-oriented, and again, expensive. He discovered, however, that Somerville just might fit the bill. He was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of information that might be of particular interest to Sam. Excitedly, he printed out his secret weapon. He checked his watch and saw that he had about ten minutes left before lunch, gathered up his things, and set out to find her.

Sam had stopped at her locker and had already begun swapping out books when Freddie arrived.

"Hi."

"Hey," she answered. She felt awkward, unprepared to talk with him about what she was sure was going to be a life-as-she-knew-it-changing event.

"I, uh, I saw Carly earlier. She told me you told her about Boston."

"Yeah." Sam was not herself, she was finding it difficult to speak in poly-syllabic sentences. She tried not looking at him, and continued, "Have you come to your senses yet?" _Look who's talking_, she thought. _Have you?_

"Listen, Sam. I realize you may not want to move so far away – _with me_ – but, I really need you to go."

"Carly thinks –"

"I know what Carly thinks. What about you?" Freddie was hoping that everything Carly said about the three of them being closer in distance to each other would convince her that it was the best idea for all of them.

"Is Carly right?" Sam could hear the hope in her voice. It confused her a little. It was like everything hinged on whether Freddie loved her, as Carly suggested, or not.

"Well, I agree with her. I mean, I think it would be a great opportunity for us."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do. Really."

She was surprised by his seemingly earnest answer, and strangely, she was both relieved and concerned. "But, Freddie, I don't know if I feel –"

"Sam, I'm sure you're worried, but really, I've been thinking about this for a while now."

"You never said anything," she whispered. Sam looked at him with wonder.

"Well, I wasn't sure until just the other day when I asked you to come with me."

Sam thought maybe a different approach was necessary, and asked him to tell her more about _the where_, deciding to put aside _the why_ for now. "So, what is it about Boston that you're so hung up on, anyway?"

"I don't know, I guess it's that it's different from here. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love it here. But, I think I wanna just go off and be on my own, someplace new and exciting."

"You wanna get away from your mom, huh?"

"Yeah, that too."

"But, you want me to come along?"

"Well, yeah. I – I need you – I – I mean, I'm gonna need a roommate."

"A 'hot girl roommate'?" she said. Freddie didn't answer right away. He looked a little embarrassed that she was reminding him of his use of that phrase. It made her smirk.

"Well…."

"Okay, so, why Boston specifically?"

"Well, that's just where M.I.T. is, I can't change that. But, Boston's historical. It's a smaller city, so even though I'm feeling adventurous, I feel like maybe I won't get too lost, like I might in a city like New York. But, it's close enough to New York to go visit there, too." _Remind her about the occasional meet-up with Carly_, he thought. "The bonus is that Carly will also be close, so we can be near her, too."

"So, if I don't come, it'll just be you and Carly?" she asked deflated.

"Whaddyu mean?" Genuine confusion shown on Freddie's face.

"Nothing. Forget it." Sam contemplated the repercussions of the decision she was about to make.

"So, will you at least think about it some more?" Freddie suddenly remembered his research, and reached behind to get the papers out of his backpack. He unzipped his bag and pulled them out. "You know what? I have some information that might change your mind."

"It's okay. I don't need it," Sam said. She held her hand up to stop him.

"But, I found some stuff on ZapLook that –"

"Freddie, I'll do it. I'll move to Boston with you."

"Wait. You will? You'll move to Boston with me?"

"Yeah, I just said that."

"But…you haven't even heard about Somerville. What made you change your mind?"

"Just because….'Cuz, I'll miss Carly….And, 'cuz of what she said. Because of you…and, how you feel."

"Whaddyu –"

"Don't make a big deal out of it, okay, Benson. I'm not ready for us to get into that yet. Just gimme a couple of days to get used to it."

"But, Sam –" Freddie was confused by what she was saying. He got the distinct feeling that they were definitely headed in the same direction, but travelling on significantly different tracks.

"Freddie…I wanna be with you, okay? Leave it at that," Sam commanded.

"Yeah, but -" He felt the need to clarify the terms of their arrangement.

"Do you want me to go or not?" she asked impatiently.

Freddie realized crossing her would not be the best course of action at the moment, and acquiesced, "O-okay."

"Okay," Sam said with finality. She left him then and headed towards the cafeteria.

"Uh…thanks, Sam."

She waved without turning, and disappeared around the corner. Freddie glanced once more at the information he'd printed out and folded the sheets of paper up. He thought it funny that Sam hadn't needed more convincing. Carly had been wrong about what Sam thought after all. She had been more influential than she'd been aware. Freddie unzipped his backpack and came across the letter from M.I.T. He pushed it to the side and stuffed the other papers into his backpack with it, and went over to his locker.

Unexpectedly, the school secretary's voice came over the loud speaker:

"_Attention all students: please make your way to the auditorium in a calm and orderly fashion. I repeat: all students make your way to the auditorium. The cafeteria is now closed. Lunch has been cancelled."_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

"You guys are home early."

"We had a slight case of Security Risk," Carly said. She tossed her bag onto the side chair and headed towards the kitchen followed by Sam. Freddie shut the door behind them, but stayed in the living room, dropping his bag down on the floor next to the couch where Sam left hers.

"What?" asked Spencer. "Is everything okay?" He put down the sculpting tools he was working with on the kitchen counter, and turned towards the girls. Carly scanned the contents of the refrigerator, and dissatisfied with what she found, she closed the door.

"Yeah, it's fine," Sam answered.

Carly walked back towards her bag in the living room, and reached into it to find her wallet. "I'm gonna head over to Holy-O's for some doughnuts. I'll be right back." She pulled open the front door and swung around towards the others quickly, pointing her right index finger at them sternly, "Nobody leave!" Freddie raised his hands up in defense. Carly backed out, her eyes and finger flitting between each of them as she pulled the door shut.

"So, what happened?" Spencer asked concerned.

"Disgruntled teacher. No biggie."

"Ah." Satisfied that everyone was safe, Spencer collected his tools and headed for his bedroom. "Alright, I'm gonna go take a shower. I have a hot date tonight."

"Sweet."

"Is it okay if we wait for Carly up in the studio then?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks."

"Hey, don't you need to text your mom that you're here?" Sam chided Freddie.

"Nah, we're only out an hour early. She won't know the difference if I spend it here." Freddie followed Sam up the stairs to the studio. "Besides, she needs to get used to the idea of me being out of her reach," he stated definitively.

"Wow, Benson. Cutting free of Mommy's apron strings already, huh?"

"Whatever," he answered with a smirk. Sam was beaming at him. It embarrassed him a little, but gave him a slight sense of pride.

"I'm sayin', I'm impressed." She turned fully towards Freddie, and reached out to ruffle his hair. Freddie swatted at her hand and straightened out her mess. "Hey, I just fixed that, Benson!"

"And, I'm 'fixing' it back."

"But, I _like it_ that way." Sam reached for Freddie's hair again, but he reacted faster than they both expected, and caught her wrist in his hand.

"Keep your hands off my hair, Puckett." He was surprisingly exceedingly successful at keeping her hand from his hair, away and above his head so that she had to tip-toe to keep her footing on the step.

"Well, well, well….Look at Benson playing the big boy." Freddie had a tight grip on Sam's wrist. He was concerned about hurting her, but knew that if he loosened his hold on her, she'd go after him again, or worse. He held on to her as she wriggled, causing her to lean forward into him. Sam was looking down at him, and Freddie realized that both her face and chest were perilously close to him. She tried to hold onto the railing with her other hand to keep herself from completely falling into him. But, she felt her eyes would betray her nervousness, and she knew Freddie was very close to noticing. She watched as his eyes quickly flitted between her breasts, her mouth, and back to her eyes. "Tryin' to set some standards of expectations for living with Mama?" she questioned, voice strained from her awkward position.

"No. I just don't like it when you do that," Freddie answered evenly. He let her arm down, and Sam firmly planted her feet back onto the step. "Okay?" he stated more than asked. Freddie loosened his grip on her wrist, but still held it, both their arms bent at the elbows. Sam was still too close to him for his comfort, but he didn't back down from his step.

"Sure." Sam searched his eyes, but they were unreadable. "Fine." She slowly pulled her wrist out of his hand and turned to continue heading back up to the studio. Freddie was a little surprised that she relented; moreover, he was surprised to see she had been nervous at their closeness moments ago when he held her hand out above his head. For a moment, he thought that maybe she thought he might kiss her, but she didn't shove him away, or kick him. She just looked...nervous. _Weird._ Sam felt him begin to follow her again after she'd gone up a couple of steps. She quickly thought to change the subject, so as to right everything between them again. "So…are we gonna go to Boston and find an apartment, or are we just gonna make arrangements with someone on Greg's List or something?"

"Uh…I don't know. I haven't thought that part out yet," Freddie replied. And, he hadn't. It was an effort just to have gotten this far with having found a roommate - that is, to have convinced Sam. He realized that she was right, and that he needed to figure out how he was going to find a place for them to live in Boston from all the way over here in Seattle.

They entered the studio, and Sam turned on the lights. She sauntered over to one of the bean bag chairs and plopped down into it. Relaxing back with her hands folded behind her head, Sam said, "Well, Freddo, we're gonna have to live somewhere."

"Actually, I've researched some neighborhoods. I was trying to show you earlier at school." Freddie went over to the computer cart and turned on the computer. He logged on and started a ZapLook search for Somerville, Massachusetts. He pulled the information up onto the flat screen. "Here, take a look at this."

Sam scanned the information on the monitor with vague interest. She was curious, but reading, let alone researching, was not her bag. The city sounded appealing. Artsy. _Meh, historical._ And, home to….Sam sat up suddenly and yelled, "Fluff! They make Fluff!"

Freddie smirked. "Yup. Well…Fluff was invented there." He watched Sam as she sprung up from the bean bag. He found that her enthusiasm was encouraging. "Look at that," he continued. She came to stand next to him, and Freddie directed her gaze to the bottom of the screen. The Culture segment on the Qwikipedia page ended with information on notable restaurants, taverns, and cafes, including a bakery called Butt-kicking Cupcakes.

Freddie watched her as her breathing became ragged. She swallowed hard concentrating on the words on the screen. Unconsciously, she leaned into Freddie's personal space to reach the trackpad and scrolled down the page to continue reading the information. Freddie stayed next to her. She was close enough for him to smell her hair. He smiled at the faint scent of coconut. He was glad to have found something of interest to her in Boston. He read along with her, watched her read, and watched as her eyes seemed to sparkle. He couldn't explain his happiness at her happiness, or his excitement at her excitement, but he was glad she was going to Boston with him. Not just relieved that he'd found a roommate so that his mother would still let him go, but truly glad that she wanted to go. Truly glad that it was Sam going with him.

Freddie shut his eyes and breathed the coconut scent in. Deeply. He could get used to this. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Sam had done a search on the bakery, and that she was staring at him expectantly.

"They say their cupcakes really kick butt." Sam studied his face. "Your eyes were closed. What were you smiling about just then?"

"I love coconut- coco- cocoa cupcakes," he stammered.

"Ooh, someone say 'cupcakes'?" Carly asked. She bounced through the studio door carrying a white box with an uppercase 'H' encircled by a doughnut halo on top. Sam and Freddie turned towards her. "Well, I come bearing doughnuts!" Sam strutted over to her, hands rubbing excitedly in front of her. Carly handed Sam the box, and then went over to the elevator and pressed the call button. "I'll bring up some glasses of milk. Save me some….Sam?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Sam answered, her face already buried deep in the box. "Did you get any Sanctified Strawberry Glaze?"

"Of course." The elevator came and Carly waited for the door to lift completely so that she could step in.

"Hey, Sam, are there any Blessed Blueberry Cruellers?" Freddie asked as he walked over to join her at the side table.

Carly turned back to look at them from inside the elevator, and feigning offense said, "It's like you guys don't even know me." The door lowered, and her muffled voice continued, "By the way, you're welcome!"

Sam was already two bites away from finishing her doughnut, and handed Freddie his crueller. "Oh, so good!" she said pushing the last bit of doughnut into her mouth. "I wish I could marry that doughnut. All I want in life is to be 'Mrs. That Doughnut'."

Freddie looked up at her from his crueller and couldn't help but smile. Sometimes he could really appreciate Sam when she was enjoying herself - not so much when that involved beating him up or making fun of him - but, when she was simply enjoying what she was doing, she could be a pleasure to behold. Sam was licking the remnants of sugary pink glaze from her fingers when she caught him smiling at her. Ordinarily, she knew it was most like her to say something snarky about him watching her, but decided this time to just silently smile back. Freddie thought it a sweet gesture, and idly wondered if it might be this way when they move in together. _Maybe it really wouldn't be so bad to live with Sam. Who wouldn't want to live with that?_

"Whaddya say, first thing we do when we get to Boston is hit Butt-kicking Cupcakes," he said, still smiling.

Sam leaned over, slyly looking at Freddie from underneath her lashes. "You know, Freddie, if you're trying to get to my heart through my stomach, it's working."

**A/N**: If reviewing this is wrong...I don't want you to be right. ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**: Okay, so here's the deal. I tried to indicate the passage of time in this chapter. Up until now, the story has spanned over the course of only a couple of days. But, if I don't get them moving forward, this story's gonna end up being like 30 chapters! And (sigh), I really don't want that. Anyway, I didn't want to be too obvious about dates or hit you over the head with time references. But after reading and re-reading, I'm left wondering if it flows right, and is clear that a little over a month has passed since the beginning of the story now, and that little subtle movements between Sam and Freddie have been pushing them closer to each other. I feel like this chapter is filler in order to get some technicalities outta the way: apartment searching and money issues...eating and sleeping; you know. As always, thanks for continuing to read...and for reviewing. :)

Chapter 8

Sam leaned over, slyly looking at Freddie from underneath her lashes. "You know, Freddie, if you're trying to get to my heart through my stomach, it's working."

Freddie blinked at her words, and his smile faded. He looked at her quizzically, but before he was able to ask her what she meant, Carly returned.

"Okay, what did you guys leave me?"

"There's a couple of Communion Crème left, and an Everlasting Éclair." Freddie pushed the box over towards Carly.

"I had a half of the Blackberry Bible Bar, but it was kinda tart, so I left the other half."

"Hmm, Spencer likes all of those. I'll have the extra Communion Crème, then." Carly lifted the lid of the box and peered inside. She reached in for her doughnut, and noticed the 'half' of the Blackberry Bible Bar Sam had left. Carly dangled it between her thumb and index finger. "Sam, _this_ is what you call leaving the other half? There's barely a couple of bites left."

"Yeah, and _that_ part was tart," Sam answered as if stating the obvious.

Rolling her eyes, Carly set the piece of Blackberry Bible Bar back down in the box, and picked up the Communion Crème. Freddie and Sam watched silently as she prepared to eat it. Carly pinched at the stack of napkins on the table to be sure to only take one. She unfolded it with her right hand while her left held the doughnut. She placed it carefully on her lap, both legs joined side-by-side all the way down to her feet. Carly gingerly ate over her napkin-covered lap, occasionally dabbing at the corners of her mouth to wipe away errant crème with a second napkin pinched from the stack.

Sam found some extra glaze on the back of her hand and licked at it like a cat cleaning its fur. Freddie looked from Carly to Sam and subconsciously compared the two; Carly's systematic, neat, and graceful way of eating with Sam's ravenous, chaotic, and unrefined approach. Sam caught him watching as she licked at the back of her hand and felt suddenly and uncharacteristically self-conscious. But, Freddie seeing he'd caught her eye signaled to her to watch as Carly ate her doughnut, and the two secretly made fun of her without ever saying a word.

Sam liked when they communicated this way. She'd tried it with Carly a few times, but often eye movements were misread, and information miscommunicated. The last time, Sam had ended up asking Rip-off Rodney to dance when, as it turned out, Carly had only wanted to know if she'd had an extra toothpick in her pocket. Freddie'd always understood, though. She'd instantly forgotten her embarrassment and took a swig from her glass of milk. Her mouth left the rim of the glass with a milk moustache, and Freddie chuckled. Sam gave him a threatening look, and he took a sip from his milk. He came away with a matching milk moustache, and smiled at her. Sam touched her index finger to her upper lip, and realized what he'd found funny about her face. She wiped away at her mouth with the back of her hand, and reached out to his face and wiped his milk moustache away with her fingers as well. And, he'd let her.

They'd forgotten about Carly, as she continued to eat in silence, watching them. She couldn't help but be pleased and excited for them. The romantic display before her was both sweet and endearing, and she couldn't help but be happy for her friends' new-found fondness for each other. _Any other girl would be jealous_, she thought, considering that Freddie at one time only had eyes for her. But, Carly couldn't be happier for them. She'd suspected for quite some time that they had feelings for each other, and was glad to see them not only getting along, but obviously flirting. _They're so adorable._

* * *

"Freddie," Marissa called out as she entered her son's room, "_Sam's_ here." Turning towards the young blonde, she pointedly stated, "I'm leaving for work. I'll be back in nine hours and thirty-seven minutes. I trust you'll be gone by then."

Sam stepped threateningly towards Marissa, and stretching to full height, menacingly answered, "Maybe."

Pulling Sam back by the hand, and dragging her down to sit next to him, Freddie said, "Yes, Mom. See you later."

"Alright," she reluctantly replied. "Bye, Freddie."

Gesturing with her chin pointed towards the computer screen, Sam smirked and asked, "What were you looking at that you hid from your mom?"

Taken aback by her question - surprised that she'd caught what he thought was a covert movement – he answered, "Apartments."

"Oh, yeah? Why'd you minimize the screen?"

Freddie looked away from Sam and back at the computer screen before explaining, "'Cuz she thinks I'm gonna be dorming."

"Does she know I'm going with you?"

"Um…no, actually."

Freddie watched Sam's face and found it unreadable, and all she said was, "Interesting." After what seemed to Freddie like eons, Sam broke eye-contact with him and looked back to the screen. She placed her hand over Freddie's on the mouse, and maximized the window. "What've you seen so far?"

Freddie took a moment to answer. He stared distractedly at the back of his hand, now exposed since Sam had removed hers from atop it. "Mostly chizz." Over the last several weeks since Freddie asked her to come to Boston with him, he'd noticed Sam's behavior towards him change, but couldn't quite put a finger on what was going on. She'd eased up on most of the really abusive behavior over the last year or so, which he attributed to his physical size and strength growing to almost matching hers, but lately she'd taken to touching him in a gentler way…and more intimately. It didn't make him uncomfortable, he was used to Sam touching him and being in his personal space; it was just different, and he hadn't yet decided if he liked it. But, he definitely didn't hate it.

"How come your mom has to work today?"

"She traded shifts with someone last week so she could be home for Easter. Remember, I had to go to my Aunt Jennifer's?"

"Oh, yeah. How _did_ that Prune Pie turn out?" Sam chortled.

Freddie took a sidelong glance and smirked as he answered, "It was the gift that kept on giving…I _heard_. I didn't have any."

"Smart boy, Fredhead." Sam leaned over to see what was written on the computer screen more clearly, and her hair brushed briefly against Freddie's cheek. "What does E-I-K mean?"

"You would instinctively zero-in on that description, wouldn't you?"

"What does it mean?"

"Eat-in kitchen."

"Ha! Now we're talkin'. So…how 'bout that one?"

"It's a studio."

"So?"

"_So_, that means it's only one room. The living room and bedroom are the same _one_ room."

"Oh. Well, that won't work."

"No," Freddie agreed.

"How 'bout that one? That's a 'spacious' two-bedroom."

"Sam, it's not deleaded."

"Are you _serious_?"

"They won't allow pets – what about Frothy?"

Sam looked at him questioningly, "You wanted me to bring him? I thought you were afraid of him. And, you're mom's allergic, remember?"

"Well…I thought he might…keep you from getting…homesick."

"Well…." Sam wasn't sure of what she wanted to say. She was ambivalent about Freddie not telling his mom about them moving in together. Why hadn't he told his mom that he wasn't going to dorm? Why did he decide to get an apartment anyway...and, with _her_? But, it also touched her that Freddie was concerned about how she'd feel being so far away from the only city she's ever lived in. Ultimately, she decided not to make too much of it. Sam had decided weeks ago not to make too much of anything that passed between them, even though she knew deep down that she was becoming increasingly desperate in wanting to let Freddie know how she felt. Not even Carly knew how much. And, she was becoming increasingly desperate for him to show her how he felt. _Maybe Carly was wrong about Freddie's feelings._ _It's true that he hasn't acted very much in love with Carly in over a year now_, and she thought, _he has to know what he's getting himself into by asking me to move in with him, but he hasn't really been acting very much in love with me either._ She'd come close to saying something the week after he'd asked her to move in with him during their regular post-iCarly snack while Carly was setting things up in the kitchen, but Spencer had burst into the living room on fire, and the moment was lost forever. She shrugged and continued, "Actually, I was gonna leave Frothy with my mom. She's taught him how to do laundry, and he just got a new job at the UW Medical Research Center."

Freddie glared at her. "What?"

"He catches mice for the lab."

"Of course," he dead-panned.

"Listen, I don't care if it's not deleaded. I mean, as long as you keep the fridge stocked, we're not gonna be eating peeling pieces of paint off the walls, right? It looks pretty good, and it's not too expensive."

"It's fifteen-fifty a month. That's almost eight hundred dollars a month for each of us – _before_ buying groceries. And, you can get lead poisoning from the paint dust from the windows opening and closing."

"What about cable?"

"Nope."

"Forget _that_ then."

"This one might be doable; it's only twelve twenty-five a month."

* * *

_"You know, I could go back to selling kisses in a booth for extra money."_

_"I thought you only did that for charity."_

_"Nuh uh. I could set something up at school as a side business - maybe next to Rip-off Rodney selling burritos...That time I kissed you, THAT was for charity."_

_"You can't set up a kissing booth business at school."_

_"Why not?"_

_"You don't have enough experience."_

_"Whaddyu mean?"_

_"I'm the only guy you've ever kissed."_

_"So?"_

_"So, I think you'll need more experience to open a good money-making business."_

_"I can get on-the-job training."_

_"Actually, I was thinking that I could help you. Unfortunately, there's another problem with your plan."_

_"Whaddyu mean?"_

_"Well, the better you kiss, the more money you'll make, and the easier we can make the rent. We can practice kissing -"_

_"You want to kiss me?"_

_"Obviously. But, the other problem – which ultimately would ruin this plan – is that I don't want you to be kissing anyone else but me. Rent be damned."_

"_But…you WANT to kiss me?"_

"_Sam, I always want to kiss you."_

Sam's eyes opened suddenly, and she'd instinctively took in a deep breath. She recognized her surroundings instantly, and realized that she'd fallen asleep in Freddie's bed. Sam immediately found him sitting at the computer in the same position she'd last remembered him in before the weight of her eyelids became too heavy for her to bear. Sam considered speaking, announcing that she was awake again, but instead decided to pretend she was still sleeping while watching him silently out of one half-opened eye. And so it surprised her when, without turning, he spoke.

"You were dreaming about kissing Rip-off Rodney."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

"Hey, this is gonna sound weird, but, uh…what's going on with Sam?" Freddie asked. He'd strategically waited until their friend had left to help Spencer bring down a sculpture made from sunglasses to the Shays' car in order to deliver it to the optometrist's office downtown where Spencer's new girlfriend was working. Sam had agreed that it was _waaay cooler_ than a bouquet of flowers, and Spencer had recruited her to help deliver it. Freddie used the opportunity to interrogate the other female about her best friend's recent odd behavior.

"Whaddyu mean?" Carly asked in response, looking up at him from their prop trunk. She was finally taking inventory of their wigs and scarves after putting it off all winter. She had at one point around Christmas had it in her mind that she might make her own prom dress from the costumes they had left over from Wade Collins's video, but Sam - of all people - had convinced her that that was too _Pretty in Pink_.

"Uh…you haven't noticed? For the last several weeks or so she's been acting…like…she _likes_ me….You know…in _that_ way. Except, last night…is Sam maybe into…does she like Rip-off Rodney?"

"Rip-off Rodney? No! Am I never gonna live that down? It was just a misunderstanding. You know, I didn't purposefully plan on getting broccoli stuck in my teeth! Why would they even have crudités at a high school event?" Carly wrung her hands at the memory, "Sam didn't really wanna dance with him; that was my fault – for which I later paid dearly." Carly continued with steadily increasing zeal. "She hasn't been acting weird. I mean, considering she's psyched about _you_ being in love with her. I mean, she keeps telling me she still can't believe you feel the way you do, so I think she's still kinda skirting around the issue. Which - I told her - I think is silly since we already know how you feel, especially after _all_ this time. But, whatever, you know how Sam is. I think it's fantastic! I mean, she hasn't been _this_ excited about a guy since - you know, come to think of it, I don't think she's _ever_ been _this_ excited about a guy."

"Carly, what are you talking about? Why would Sam be excited about me being," Freddie took a moment to process the information Carly was relaying, and gulped before continuing, "in _love_ with her?"

"Well…aren't you?" Freddie glared at her and slowly shook his head. "Wait. You mean you're _not_ in love with Sam?"

"In love with _Sam_? Where would you get _that_ idea?"

"Well…from _you_. You were acting weird, watching Sam during class and during rehearsal, and asking her to move across the country with you. And, you've been flirting like crazy with her over the last month. You're in love with her." Carly stated as a matter of fact, but upon further study of Freddie's eyes, she realized that what she saw there was confusion. "Aren't you?"

"No!" he whined, his voice raised a full octave.

"Oh, my God!" Carly began to pace around the studio. "Well…Sam thinks you are. I told her -"

"You _told_ her?" Freddie asked, his words filled with exasperation.

"You were doing all that stuff you used to do when you were in love with me. Aw, man, you're not still in love with _me_ are you?"

"Ugh! Carly, focus! How did Sam react when you told her you thought I was in love with her?"

"She didn't believe it." Freddie was momentarily relieved, and sighed as such. However, Carly continued, "But Freddie, I really sold it to her. I think she really thinks you are now. I-I'm sure of it."

"Aw, man!" He thought back to the last few weeks and how Sam had been acting. The smiling, the flirting. She'd even been sorta kind to him, in her own way; she'd let him off easy and even backed down a few times when they'd fought – it wasn't real fighting, but still. And, what she'd said last month about getting to her heart through her stomach – he hadn't gotten a chance to ask her then what she meant, and had let it slip his mind since. But now, it all made sense. Well, in a crazy sorta way, anyhow.

"What're you gonna do?"

"What am _I_ gonna do?" Freddie asked Carly incredulously. "_You_ started this all!"

"Oh no, I didn't!" she yelled, a pointed index finger firmly planted into Freddie's chest. Carly shook her head vehemently. "You were the one who asked Sam to move to Boston with you under false pretenses!"

"Ow!" Freddie backed away from Carly and her finger, and rubbed generously at the pained spot on his chest. "What?"

"Oh, yes! You pretended you were in love with her, and got her to go!"

"I wasn't 'pretending' to be in love with her! Carly, _you_ need to fix this."

"I don't want to get involved."

"What?" Freddie couldn't believe this was happening. The only thing worse than Sam thinking he was in love with her, was Sam being in love with him - when he wasn't in love with her - and her finding out about it.

"Oh, hey, Sam!" Carly exclaimed, noticing the blonde return through the studio door. She shoved Freddie back unceremoniously, and laughed in a conspicuously awkward way. "My bestest friend…who's moving to Boston with my other bestest friend. I'm going to get some snacks…at the store…be back in...a while!"

"Carly!"

Sam watched suspiciously as Carly all but ran out of the studio and raced down the stairs. She looked at Freddie and asked, "What's her deal?"

"She's just…really…hungry."

"Uh huh." Sam eyed Freddie skeptically, and plopped down into one of the bean bag chairs. Freddie avoided making eye-contact with her, and went straight for the computer cart. Sam watched him and became increasingly curious about what he and Carly were talking about just before she came into the studio. Whatever it was had obviously frightened Carly, and she'd fled. Freddie was clearly busying himself in order to avoid her. But, Sam wasn't about to let him off the hook. "Soooo," she began, "I told my mom about Boston. She's okay with it. Well, at first she wasn't, but then I told her she could have Frothy, and she asked if I needed help packing."

"Oh?" Freddie responded, pretending to not be paying any attention to her, and instead, looking very intently at the laptop screen.

"She wants to know where we'll be living. You know, what kinda neighborhood it is. I told her you had some stuff printed out. Can I show her?"

"Uh…yeah. The print-outs are still in my bag," he answered pointing at his backpack within arm's reach of her bean bag chair, still avoiding making any eye-contact with the girl.

Sam leaned over and pulled his bag into her lap. She unzipped the front pocket and found the papers. Included was an envelope from M.I.T. that she recognized as Freddie's acceptance letter. She couldn't believe he was so nubby as to carry around his acceptance letter for bragging rights. Of course, she opened it to take a look at it for herself, because after all and despite what she might say to his face, she was actually proud of him. Sam pulled the letter out of the envelope, and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the letter, and after a few words she realized that it wasn't what she thought. There were no words of acceptance, in fact, what she found were words of regret. _We regret to inform you that all freshmen housing has been filled._

It didn't take very long for Sam to figure out what this letter meant. She looked up at Freddie, watched him fiddle with his cables and type commands on the laptop. Her mind replayed all the moments they'd been alone together since he'd asked her to move to Boston with him, and she realized he'd never given her any indication that he was in love with her. She realized that it had been Carly's idea that, like a seed planted in her head, grew into more - into these feelings for Freddie. It was strange to her to realize now how easy it had been for her to come to feel this way about him. But, here the feelings were, and she realized that here they'd stay. She knew definitively and undoubtedly, at that moment, that she was in love with him. She knew it. Unfortunately, she also knew that the letter meant that he definitively and undoubtedly did not feel the same. Sam looked back at the letter considering her options. She could do what everyone would expect her to do: get angry, beat Freddie up, go home, and…_then what? Find a job after graduation; keep living with Mom, while Carly and Freddie go off across the country to college?_ _Miss them, and not be able to ever do iCarly again?_ It was clear to her that those were not good options. _And, what about Freddie's options?_ Obviously, Mrs. Benson would not let her precious baby boy go off alone across the country to live in some apartment by himself, and how would he afford it on his own? She wondered if she should even care. Sam looked up at him again and watched him closely. Sam loved Freddie now, without a doubt. She couldn't not care, and couldn't in good conscience leave him option-less. He'd worked so hard to get into the school he wanted; what kind of friend would she be if she let him down by not moving to Boston with him just because he doesn't love her back? Freddie continued to type, oblivious to her breaking heart. _He doesn't love me_, she thought. _Well, no harm - no foul, right? Everything is status quo._ She folded the letter back up and slid it soundlessly back into its envelope.

"Did you find it all?" he asked, finally looking over at her.

Sam could see the tension in his jaw as he tried to engage her in conversation. She suspected now that the spectacle he and Carly produced earlier may have had to do with his real reason for asking her to go to Boston, or perhaps Carly revealing something of what Sam felt about him to him. She took a deep breath before answering, "Yeah, it was all in there. Thanks." Sam pushed herself up from the chair and said, "I'm gonna get outta here – bring this stuff home to my mom. Tell Carly I'll talk to her later."

"But, you just got back." Freddie noticed something was different about Sam's demeanor, and stopped her on her way passed. "Hey, are you okay?"

She tried weakly and unsuccessfully to shrug out of his grasp, and answered, "Yeah. I'm just gonna head out." It was her turn to avoid his eyes now.

Freddie ducked his head and leaned over to catch a glimpse of her face. Concerned, he gently rubbed her arm with his thumb. "You want a ride?"

"Nah, I'm good." Sam shrugged again, and Freddie reluctantly released her. As if suddenly realizing she was pulling away to leave, his fingers instinctively and hastily seized again at her shirt sleeve, but missed their mark. Confused, Freddie dropped his arm slowly as Sam walked quietly out the door, without a glance back.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

Freddie was holding all the cards. At least that's what this felt like to him. And, it was a weird, but not completely unfamiliar feeling. It reminded him of how Carly reacted to him saving her life. But, never would he have thought Sam could succumb to the mere suggestion that he be in love with her. The idea that Sam could have developed these feelings - romantic feelings - for him in such a short amount of time, just because Carly told her that he had feelings for her, was crazy. But, at the same time, he thought maybe it hadn't been so sudden. Maybe it was there all along. The taunting, the physical abuse, might have been Sam's outlet for her feelings towards nubby-him. And, maybe all Sam really needed was to think the possibility existed that he could also have those feelings for her – and, not for Carly anymore – so she could let herself be honest about what she felt, or at least channel it differently. The idea of it made him bold, empowered, and confident. He'd felt the same way a few days after their first kiss, during History when Bonnie Butterfield passed him a note asking him if she could meet him after class to borrow his notes because she'd been out the day before. It turned out that she'd only thought he had really neat handwriting; but still, at that moment Bonnie'd passed the note, he'd thought himself pretty cool, and he knew the truth about why. He'd now experienced his first kiss - he wasn't lame - and Sam hadn't said it was suckish. Now, Sam Puckett, who'd called him names, pulled prank after prank on him, and embarrassed him publicly – internationally – was falling in love with him. Sam Puckett. It was a heavy responsibility to bear – Sam's love.

Should he handle her the way Carly always has him? Gently, and potentially comically, let her down easy. Freddie didn't think that course of action would be possible with Sam. In fact, it could be dangerous – a Puckett scorned, and all that. Would she still want to be friends? He couldn't jeopardize that. If he rejected her, she would most certainly not want to be roommates. But, that didn't seem to him as important anymore. Of course Freddie still wanted her to want to move to Boston with him, but at what price? He was too caring a friend – despite everything she'd ever done to him, and because of everything she'd ever done for him – to sacrifice her dignity. So, the question became: would it really be so bad to let her love him? Accept her love…and, return it?

Freddie politely knocked before turning the knob to enter through the always unlocked door to 8-C. "So…you know when you find out someone likes you, and then you kinda start liking them?" he asked cautiously. Carly was sitting on the couch and looked up from her _Rock 'n' Roll_ magazine, blinked twice purposefully, and looked away slightly embarrassed. "Guess not," Freddie dead-panned. "Here's the thing. Ever since yesterday when you said that Sam likes me, I –"

"You like Sam!" Carly exclaimed happily. She tossed her magazine on the coffee table and watched Freddie in anticipation.

"I didn't say that."

"So…you really _aren't_ into Sam?" she asked deflated.

"Carly…I- I don't know how I feel about Sam."

"Do you still like me?"

"Carly...you'll always be my first crush. And, Sam...Sam will always be my first kiss. But, we're friends…I-I don't know. I think, though, that if I still liked you the way I used to…then...I'd _know_ if I _didn't_ like Sam."

"You know, I think it would be great if you and Sam got together. I mean, I know how you used to feel about me, and I was always flattered -"

"Carly, don't okay? This whole thing with Sam is already awkward enough. Listen, it never hurt my feelings – every time you turned me down - I knew how you really felt, okay? You've always been _the_ _best_ friend."

"So, what about Sam?"

"Well...I mean, you know there've been a few girls who've liked me well enough, but nothing ever really came of those dates or class crushes. Sam's...different - _in more ways than one_. What if it doesn't work out? You guys are my best friends. And…what if she _tells you_ stuff?"

"Like what kinda - Ew! Let's worry about _that_ if and when it happens," she said shuddering. Carly looked at Freddie and saw that he was genuinely troubled, and wanted to be more supportive to him. Quietly she asked him, "Why _did_ you ask Sam to move to Boston with you?"

"I got a letter from M.I.T. saying there was no more Freshmen Housing. I needed someone to room off-campus with me."

"What did your mom say?"

"I haven't told her yet."

"About Sam?"

"About any of it."

"Freddie, that was weeks ago! You know, Sam's crazy about you. Maybe I _can't_ tell when two eye rolls and a creepy smile mean 'toothpick' – I mean _really_, how was I supposed to know that Sam can't wink? But, I _can_ tell when something is important to her. And, this thing happening between you two is _important_ to her. She's moving to Boston for you. All those other reasons…they're just…convenient. She really wants to go with you. You need to talk to her. And, you _really_ need to tell your mom about what you two are doing."

"That's what I figured you'd say."

"Is that what you came over for?"

"Sorta. I also have to update some applications on the iCarly website. But, I've been thinking about this situation all day. Here, Sam drew this during science." Freddie held out a picture of he and Sam moving into what looked like a house. In it the Sam-like figure was holding only a remote, while the Freddie-like one behind her balanced: a television, two chairs, a coffee table, and four suitcases.

"Wow. Your life isn't in danger in this one," Carly marveled. "You're pretty strong," she added, handing him back the drawing.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I don't know if I'm ready for this, Carly." He stood looking at the picture for a moment, and then continued, "I really do care about Sam, though…I really do."

"Do you really still think you should move in together?"

"We're not 'moving in together', we'll be roommates. And yeah, I mean, I still want to. Ever since I asked her to go, she's been really cool to hang out with. Not that she wasn't before, and she still messes with me a little, but I think we really could make it work. I think she'd like living in Boston. And, I like spending time with her."

"You mean, without _me _around? Not that I'm jealous - just clarifying."

"Carly, you haven't had to protect me from Sam or be the 'something we have in common' for years now."

"I know...Freddie, do you think things would change very much if you did get together?"

Freddie's forehead scrunched in contemplation, "That's the weird thing - I don't. I just...it's hard for me to think about Sam as a girlfriend - I mean, of her as _my _girlfriend. Not that I've never imagined us -"

"Wait," Carly interrupted. "You've thought about dating Sam?" A slight smile slowly grew on her face.

"Well...yeah…but, I would never have expected her to be the least bit interested in me. And, it was just _hypothetical_, you know? And now…I can't _stop_ thinking about it - about it being a real possibility. But, I don't know if how I feel about her is like what you say she feels about me." He headed for the stairs, but turned back to address her again. "Hey, have you spoken to Sam since yesterday?"

"No, why?"

"She was acting weird when she left…kinda sad-like."

"I never actually saw her today. She hasn't called or texted me either. But, you saw her again in class; how did she seem then?"

"I guess the same as usual. We didn't talk, though, except for when she handed me this," he said gesturing with the drawing.

"You know what, Freddie, I don't think things are as bad as _you _think they are," Carly responded with a hopeful smile and reassuring pat to Freddie's shoulder.

Still dejected, Freddie gestured to Carly that he was going up to the studio, and began to make his way up the stairs again. He turned back to her from the landing and asked, "Sam really can't wink?"

"Nope. And, it's really funny watching her try."

**A/N:** So...you know what to do, right? Okay, just in case you don't know what to do - you've read, now please review. Good. Now we're all clear.


	12. Chapter 12

Anything I could say (about life, depression, vacation, and much more depression) in addition to apologizing for not posting new material any sooner would sound lame, so I won't. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this new chapter and we'll all just get over my negligence. And, by the way, I am very sorry. [sheepishly bats eyelashes] :)

Chapter 11

The idea of Sam and him together - romantically - had crossed Freddie's mind many times before. In fact, it had been years since it last seemed an impossibility. Sam had grown into a very attractive young woman; Freddie wasn't fool enough to deny that. Aesthetically speaking, she was gorgeous, and many a classmate in the high school locker room had commended Freddie on his fortune for being best friends with two hot girls. Some time ago, though - not known by anyone else but Gibby - he definitively gave up on the idea of a 'Carly and him'. 'Sam and him', however, remained a different story. Freddie knows he's had that recurring dream at least five or six times, in which she's wearing her iCarly Awards dress, and they're on the fire escape and he leans over to hear some secret Sam wants to whisper into his ear, but she instead sticks her tongue in it. Every morning that he wakes up after having it, Freddie craves ham, and (except for the first time) has to take a cold shower.

The bell dinged in the iCarly Studio indicating the arrival of the elevator, and the door rose to reveal Carly and Sam. Freddie felt relieved and excited to see Sam with Carly, and especially to see that her smile had returned to her bright face.

"Look who I found," Carly said knowingly.

"I wasn't lost, Carls," Sam corrected. She walked over to the car and lay back against its hood with her head propped up in the palm of her left hand. Freddie hadn't yet spoken, but she saw that his eyes were following her every move. "What's up, Fredweird? Cat got your tongue?"

_This is it_, he thought. _No time like the present._ "Actually, I need to tell you something." Freddie looked from Sam to Carly, whose face was turned away from Sam's view. Her eyes widened like saucers, and she tried to signal to Freddie to not go through with what she thought he was going to do. He walked over to Carly in the middle of the studio, and patted her on the shoulder as she'd done with him earlier. "Don't worry, Carly," Freddie said gently smiling. "It'll be fine."

"'Sup?" Sam asked. She sat up on the car hood, and gave the boy her undivided attention.

"It's about us moving to Boston together…."

"Whaddabowdit?"

"The reason I asked you to room with me is because…I got a letter from M.I.T. saying that there weren't any more dormitory vacancies for freshmen."

"And?"

"I needed a roommate…that's all." It sounded harsh even to his ears as he stressed the words: _that's all_. He watched Sam's face and her body language; nothing about her revealed a negative reception of his message. Seconds passed and he was surprised to find that he was still standing next to Carly waiting for Sam to respond - not lying on the floor bleeding, as he imagined in his mind's eye. "I thought maybe my mom would have less of a problem with me still going to school across-country if I had a roommate that I knew…and _trusted_."

Sam shrugged her chin in response. "Yeah, I get it, Freddork." _Duh._ "Makes total sense. We'll make sure Mommy Benson lets you go after the best education you can get – wherever that ends up being."

"Soooo, you're okay with it?" Carly asked, taking care to stand slightly in front of Freddie blocking him from any last minute violent responses from Sam. Carly looked at Sam so surprised by her reaction that she was confused as to how to react herself. "I thought you –"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sam interrupted with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, I wouldn't wait too much longer to tell her if I were you, Freddo; but, whatever, I'm not you. _Thank goodness for that_."

Freddie watched as Sam leaned up off the car hood. She slid down the front a bit so that her feet dangled from the fender. Something about her reaction didn't sit well with him. He had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sam just didn't seem herself - maybe it was that she was acting too much like her old self – the Sam before Boston. He wondered if he should mention how his feelings about the whole thing have changed now, how he thought of her as more than just a means to an end, how _he really wanted_ for _her_ to go with him. "I –" But, Carly began speaking at the same time as he did and drowned him out, neither girl noticed.

"Well," Carly said with an enthusiastic clapping of her hands, "now that that's settled, let's get working on the next iCarly."

"I'm ready, Freddie," Sam said, her enthusiasm matching that of Carly's. She hopped off the car hood and gave them a waggley and exaggerated thumbs-up. Freddie watched the girls. Conversely, he did not think the issue was settled. But, he went along and readied the computer and camera for rehearsal.

* * *

Carly turned the corner on the staircase landing looking about the living room for Spencer as she descended. Following close behind her was Sam. The sound of her voice, filled with a sing-songy self-satisfaction, belied the look on her face which had a sadness to it that Carly couldn't see with Sam behind her. "I told you you were wrong, Shay."

"Yu-p," she said, her bottom lip popping the 'p'. "_You_ were right. I should have just let it go." Carly turned toward her as she reached the bottom step and eyed Sam, questioning her carefully. "Are you really okay with it?"

"Yeah…I never fully believed it anyway." Sam side-stepped past Carly and walked around to the front of the couch plopping down uncerimoniously onto it.

What Sam didn't tell Carly was that she cried all night the night before. Freddie had no idea what he really meant to her; that she'd forgotten that they were just friends. She blamed herself for the slip-up, not Carly, and not him. Carly only suggested that his behavior _could_ be interpreted as more than friendship. And Freddie…was just being himself. Sam didn't doubt that he cared about her; she didn't doubt anything about Freddie, which was her problem.

"You know, he _could_ still –"

"Don't." The blonde turned from her friend and tried her hand at non-chalance, "I'm fine with it. And anyways, as long as he doesn't start liking _you_ again, it's not a problem." Sam turned back towards Carly and partially stuck her right index finger into her mouth, "Blech."

The brunette rolled her eyes in response, "He doesn't like me anymore, Sam. And, I don't like him." She cautiously continued, "But, I really think he could -"

"I told you: don't." Sam gave Carly a look that evoked a seriousness Carly had never seen in Sam.

"Sorry." Carly decided not to press the issue and gently responded, "I'm glad you're still gonna go."

"Yeah…it's still a good idea so we can all be near each other." Sam gave Carly a quirky smile and continued, "You know who I think I'll miss, though?"

"Who?" Carly asked. She walked over to the elevator where she retrieved a note conspicuously taped to the door.

"Gibby," Sam answered.

Carly scanned the note written in Spencer's handwriting. She looked up from it back to Sam on the couch. She asked the blonde with some surprise in her voice, "Gibby?"

"Yeah."

"What's up with that?"

"Weird, huh?"

"Yeah."

Freddie, having completed some of the adjustments to the special effects necessary for the week's webisode, bounded down the stairs and joined the girls in the living room. "What's weird?"

"Your mom," Sam replied with a snicker.

Carly interjected, "Spencer said he made some fruit kebabs; they're in the fridge." She tossed Spencer's note into the trash can and walked over to the refrigerator to remove the fruit kebabs for their post-iCarly rehearsal snack. As she placed the platter of fruit onto the counter, she yelled back into the living room to Freddie. "Hey, Freddie, would you pull up the school calendar?"

"Sure thing," he answered. "What am I looking for?"

"What's the date of the Prom? I was thinking we'll have to reschedule iCarly around it…and look up when finals are, too."

"We could just do a special webisode from the Prom," Freddie suggested, walking over to the kitchen counter. He looked down at the skewered fruit and chose one.

"Aw no, you guys, I wanna enjoy the Prom – dance and take pictures of everyone in their beautiful dresses and tuxes." Carly's eyes lit up, "Ooh, that reminds me, I have a couple of dress and hair magazines up in my room. Start without me, I'll be right back." She reached the stairs and quickly turned towards the blonde, "Sam…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; I'll leave you some."

Freddie's eyes followed Carly as she ascended the stairs. When she disappeared around the wall on the next floor, he turned back to look at Sam who was still seated on the couch and now watching an episode of Girly Cow. He cleared his throat as he took a seat on one of the stools under the counter. He set down his fruit kebab and turned on the computer. "So, whatcha gonna do about the Prom?" Freddie asked Sam.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Who're you going with?" he clarified.

"Don't know yet," she shrugged.

"Oh," Freddie replied casually. "I haven't asked anyone to go with me yet."

"So?" she questioned, continuing watching Girly Cow.

"So, are you gonna go?" he asked coolly.

"You mean, by myself?" Sam tried to sneak a sidelong glance at him, but he was too much behind her for her to see him without turning.

"Yeah…or, are you gonna ask someone?" he asked, this time faking non-chalance.

"I've told you before, Dorkbrain, if a guy wants a date with Mama, he's gotta do the asking." She ventured a glance at him over her shoulder and asked, "What's this all about, Benson?"

"I was wondering….Well, I was thinking -"

"Spit it out, Freddifer," Sam said, clearly beginning to lose her patience with him.

"Do you wanna go to the Prom with..._me_?"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** I know it's been an excrutiatingly long time and I profusely apologize. Hopefully, this will make up for it. Thank you for continuing to read, and believe me, it won't be much longer now.

Chapter 12

"So, are you gonna go?" he asked coolly.

"You mean, by myself?" Sam tried to sneak a sidelong glance at him, but he was too much behind her for her to see him without turning.

"Yeah…or, are you gonna ask someone?" he asked, this time faking non-chalance.

"I've told you before, Dorkbrain, if a guy wants a date with Mama, he's gotta do the asking." She ventured a glance at him over her shoulder and asked, "What's this all about, Benson?"

"I was wondering….Well, I was thinking -"

"Spit it out, Freddifer," Sam said, clearly beginning to lose her patience with him.

"Do you wanna go to the Prom with _me_?"

"What?"

"Well, you know, we'd probably just end up hanging out together anyway," he proposed logically. Sam, still surprised by his question, just stared at him. Freddie, worried that she might suddenly react violently, quickly added, "Don't make a big deal out of it, Puckett."

Carly came bounding back down the stairs, arms full with magazines.

"Oh, boy." Freddie rolled his eyes and slowly got up from his stool. "I'm outta here."

Carly looked at him pointedly as she let fall the magazines onto the counter. "Chicken," she said to him as she headed towards the kitchen for her share of the fruit kebabs.

Freddie watched as Carly leaned over the skewered fruit and gingerly made his way over to the couch. "So…." Freddie began quietly. He was looking down at his hands as he rubbed them anxiously against his thighs. Freddie was trying his hardest not to look at Sam, lest he give himself away, "Let me know what you decide about what we were talking about before." He looked back into the kitchen to check on Carly. The brunette was still deciding which fruit kebab looked the most appetizing; she didn't appear to Freddie to have heard what he'd said to Sam.

Sam was tempted to turn towards him, look him in the eyes and question his motives. But, she didn't. Her eyes were glued to the television. Girly Cow was never more riveting, she calmly told herself. Sam could feel Freddie close behind her. He spoke quietly, obviously not wanting Carly to hear them from the other room.

"I'm gonna head out...You know, before Carly gets any ideas about having me help pick out matching shoes to go with some dress she _absolutely must have."_

"Yeah, sure. Get outta here, kid. I'll cover for you." Sam ventured a slight glance over her shoulder at him and was able to convincingly manage an only half-interested look.

Freddie nodded as he backed away from the couch. He looked back into the kitchen to see Carly tossing out her fruit kebab skewer, moins fruit.

"Hey!" she yelled after Freddie. "Where d'you think you're going?" Carly sped up past the kitchen counter towards the living room. Freddie hurriedly and accidently backed into the coat tree. He quickly regained his footing and grabbed at the doorknob. It was slippery from the sweat of his palm, but he was able to turn it and yank the door open before Carly cleared the coffee table. Freddie swept swiftly around the door and made his way out of the apartment. His face was the last thing she saw as he pulled the door shut. But, the girls could hear his voice coming from the hall, "I am NOT a chicken!"

Carly shook her head, turned around, and walked back towards the kitchen. She picked up the magazines and flipped through them. She organized the magazines by subject: dresses first, then hairstyles, accessories and make-up. Carly looked back over at Sam and sensed a strange vibe coming off of her. Sam appeared to her, even from this distance, uncomfortable; she sat straight up on the couch as she watched the television, not slouched over or at all reclined in any way like she would usually be. Carly looked back at the magazines, caught them between her hands and banged them down together twice onto the counter top. Carly laid them back onto the kitchen counter in a neat and even pile and walked back over to the couch to sit down next to Sam.

The brunette looked over at the blonde appraisingly. "What's up?" she asked her, "You're kinda quiet."

"Uh…." Sam glanced at the door, then back at Carly. "It's nothing," she insisted, shaking her head. "I mean, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Well, Freddie….Freddie….Freddie just…he kinda just asked me to go to the Prom."

"With him?"

"Yes, with him!" Sam answered annoyed. She tilted her head and looked pointedly at Carly.

Surprise clearly shown on Carly's face. "Wow. What did you say?" she asked.

Sam turned back towards the television. She felt the moment had been lost between Freddie and her, and answered Carly with a dismissive shrug. "I didn't. You came back into the room."

"Oh." Carly furrowed her brow. She felt a little kind of disappointment at having unwittingly caused an interruption during a potentially romantic and meaningful, let alone milestone, moment between her best friends. "Well, are you gonna?"

"I don't know."

"Well, how did he ask?"

"Kinda like how he asked me to room with him in Boston. He said we'd just end up hanging out together at the Prom anyway, so he figured we should go together. He said not to make a big deal out of it."

"Soooo…he probably meant you'd just be going as friends – like we always do for everything else….Right?" she said with a slight wave of her right hand, as if offering some invisible thing in her palm to the girl - half asking, half rationalizing to her confused friend.

"Yeah, I guess."

"What's the problem? I mean, besides that it's 'Freddie'."

"I-I don't know. You think I should go with him?"

"Well, is there somebody else you'd rather go with?" the brunette asked slyly.

"You know there isn't." The blonde sat continuing to face the television screen. Her brows were tensely knitted, as if in anger. She wondered why Freddie asked her, what was in it for him to string her along - make her think he wanted to be with her like he had inviting her to Boston to live with him. "Anyway, he didn't say _he wanted me to go with him_ exactly. He kinda asked if _I wanted to go with him_."

"What's the difference?" Carly asked with a little hint of laughter.

"I-I don't know!" replied the blonde. In frustration, Sam slammed her arms and hands down onto the seat of the couch, and her torso and head hard against its back.

"I think this might've been what he meant about not making a big deal out of it," Carly chuckled. "Just go," she said, gently nudging Sam in the side with her elbow. Carly turned her attention to the television. "Oh hey, I think this 'Girly Cow' is new."

And just like that, Carly had let the conversation topic drop. She decided the best course of action was to not act at all. She sat quietly, eyes trained on the television; while peripherally, she could see her best friend internally struggling with her predicament. Carly was strongly tempted to speak her mind, take control of this ridiculous situation, and fix everything before her two closest friends mucked it all up. But, she didn't. For once, she wasn't going to push...not hard, anyway. A little suggestion, a light nudge in the right direction was what these two needed. Carly could wait them out...

* * *

Sam waited her out. Carly had fallen asleep. Sam noticed her beginning to nod off about forty-five minutes earlier. It had occurred to Sam two hours ago that Carly hadn't had her usual post-dinner Peppy Cola, and she had suggested to her then-thirsty dark-haired friend, at the risk of seeming suspicious, that they drink water instead. She watched as Carly's head bobbed; gravity pulling its weight down, ever lower, each time after Carly's last bit of consciousness would raise it back upright. Sam waited an extra twenty minutes from when she'd heard the first light snore. It was the most patient she could remember ever having been; but the pay-off, she felt, was well worth it. Sam looked down at her cell phone, her fingers pressing the familiar keys of its QWERTY keyboard. She felt her heart pounding mercilessly against her ribcage as her thumb pushed down the Send button. After only a few seconds, Sam felt the vibration go off in her hand. It was as though it shot through her body and propelled her upwards from the couch. She quickly and silently moved towards the door, only taking one glance back at her sleeping friend as she passed through the opening and quietly clicked it shut.

He was already waiting for her in the hall.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"So…."

"So?"

"So…when you asked me if I wanted to go to the Prom with you…what did you mean?"

"What do you mean, what did I mean?" he chuckled.

"Did you mean: do I want to go with you, or did you mean you want me to go with you?"

Freddie smiled, his eyes bright. He shifted his weight and lightly leaned back against the frame of his door. He reached up to Sam's bare shoulder and plucked a loose strand of hair off it. Freddie looked down at the strand of hair for a moment, pinched it at its center between the index fingers and thumbs of both his hands and pulled at it, carefully sliding his fingers along it. He looked back up at her when his fingers reached the opposite ends of the hair and softly said, "Which answer will get you to say yes?"

"Whoa!" Sam exclaimed, backing away from Freddie, arms raised in front of her in defense. "Okay, I'm really beginning to feel like I've crossed over into an alternate reality. Who are you, Rico Suave? And, what did you do with the really nubby Freddie Benson?"

"Sam -" he began with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm serious, Freddie, where's all this coming from? I mean, first you ask me to leave Seattle to live with you in Boston. Boston! And, you said it was just because you needed a roommate so your mom would let you go. Then, you ask me to go with you to the Prom? And, just now, you act all cool and cute when I want to know why you asked me. What is this?"

"You thought that was cool…and cute?"

"Focus, Freddie. What gives?" Sam asked, the desperation dripping off her words.

Freddie sighed, "I want you to go with me, Sam – to Boston, to the Prom." He shrugged slightly, "I just want you to go." He tilted his head to the side, and gave her a look of appraisal, "Is that so bad?"

"Are you kidding? It's insane! You know how I've treated you in the past, how I feel about you. Why would you want to take me to the Prom? Why not ask some other girl? Why ask me to move in with you?"

"Keep your voice down," he warned. Freddie took Sam by the arm, and pulled her a couple of feet away from his and the Shays' doors. "You're going to wake the whole floor up."

"Why me, Freddie?"

"I told you why. I need a roommate. And…I also need a date to the Prom. But…I asked you to come with me because it makes sense…for both of us." Freddie thought carefully about what the next words out of his mouth might be. "It has to be you, Sam. It makes sense." The reality of it finally dawned on him; and, like the sun coming up to light a new day, he wouldn't hide his eyes from it.

Freddie still had a hold of Sam's arm, and was standing closer to her than she found comfortable, given the situation. "It has to be me?" she whispered, seemingly more so to herself than to him.

"Hmm….How about…I need it to be you?" His hold on her arm softened, and his thumb idly rubbed against her skin. "Go with me to the Prom because I've asked you and you want to dance with me all night. And, move to Boston with me because you know it'll be the best thing that's ever happened to us." She was taken aback, and he thought maybe he'd laid it on too thick. He couldn't imagine that anyone had ever said anything like that to her before, and he thought for a moment that she might think it all a joke – maybe even think he was a joke. He gave her an out. "If you don't want to go with me, then just say no, and everything will still be the same."

Sam's eyes shifted. She looked past Freddie's shoulder at Carly's and Spencer's door. "I don't know if I want things to still be the same….Actually, I'm pretty sure I want them to change."

There was a thoughtfulness Freddie had heard in her voice that he was unfamiliar with. He was eager to explore it some more. "Change how?" he asked hopefully.

"Well…I don't mean that I want things to drastically change. I just…I want…I – " Sam closed her eyes. She was afraid to finally say out loud what she felt for the dork.

He took pity on her and offered, "I'll let you mess with my hair, if you still want to."

Sam opened her eyes to see that he was smiling at her. "What about making up amusing variations of your name?"

"As long as they're not demeaning."

"No," she smiled, "I wouldn't do that."

For a long time they just stood there. He believed her; believed that she didn't want anything intrinsic to change, but that possibly they could add to their relationship, enhance it. The hallway was quiet, but he couldn't tell for the loud pounding of his heart. One phrase kept repeating itself over and over in his head that he was compelled to say it out loud. Freddie's free hand came up to touch her hair, and he gently pulled her closer to him. He leaned his forehead to hers and whispered, "I wanna kiss you."

**A/N:** Pretty please, review...


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